South Island pips North in OECD wellbeing report

It might snow on the Desert Rd every now and then but overall the North Island is a better place to live, so says some proud locals spoken to by the Rotorua Daily Post.

There's long been a bit of healthy rivalry between North Islanders and South Islanders.

A OECD report comparing wellbeing across different regions around the world has given the South Island a better report card - which may come as a blow to some of us North Islanders.

The recently-released Regional Well-being report rated the south better in seven out of nine indicators: income, jobs, civic engagement, housing, safety and health.

In terms of jobs the South Island took the cake, receiving a ranking of 9.4 out of 10, compared with 7.6 for the North Island.

The South Island was ranked in the top 7 per cent in the OECD for jobs, while the North Island ranked in the top 32 per cent.

South Islanders were slightly ahead of the north for income levels, scoring a 4.0 compared to 3.3 for the north.

The report compared 362 regions in 34 countries, based on national statistics provided to the OECD.

The scores for both islands ranked similarly to those from Queensland, Northern Norway, North Middle Sweden and Prince Edward Island in Canada.

Take a look at today's Rotorua Daily Post where we talk to locals on the street as well as familiar faces about why the North Island is better than the South.

While the report didn't name an overall top-ranked region, the Australian Capital Territory ranked scores above 8.5 for every category, and scored four scores of 10 in income, civic engagement, safety and health.

North vs South Island comparison

South Island:
- Income 4
- Environment 10
- Jobs 9.4
- Education 6.7
- Civic Engagement 7.2
- Access to Services 8.3
- Housing 7.5
- Safety 9.5
- Health 7.8

North Island:
- Income 3.3
- Environment 10
- Jobs 7.6
- Education 6.8
- Civic Engagement 6.7
- Access to Services 8.3
- Housing 7.0
- Safety 9.4
- Health 7.5

¦Rankings are out of 10